The Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, satellite will serve as an early warning beacon for impending solar storms while providing dramatic views of the Earth from its perch nearly 1 million miles toward the sun. NASA

A satellite dreamed up 17 years ago by Al Gore to provide continuous views of Earth via the internet is set for launch Sunday on a revised, more scientifically -- and politically -- viable mission. The satellite is intended to serve as a space-based "tsunami buoy" to provide early warning of potentially dangerous solar storms.

The Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, will still provide dramatic whole Earth views from its orbital perch nearly 1 million miles toward the sun. But the primary goal of the repurposed $340 million mission is to replace an aging NASA satellite, providing space weather data to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"DSCOVR will provide the observations necessary to help us deliver warnings and alerts to industries affected by space weather so they can take action to protect infrastructure and be more resilient in the face of severe events," said Tom Berger, director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Perched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, DSCOVR is scheduled for liftoff from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force station at 6:10 p.m. EST (GMT-5). The 1,256-pound solar-powered satellite is bound for a point 930,000 miles toward the sun where the gravity of Earth and its star are in a sort of balance, allowing spacecraft to remain on station with minimal use of maneuvering fuel.

To reach the so-called Lagrange 1, or L1, point, the Falcon 9 must take off on time or the flight will be delayed a day. Forecasters predicted a 90 percent chance of good weather Sunday, dropping to 70 percent "go" on Monday.

Assuming a problem-free launch, it will take DSCOVR about three-and-a-half months to reach L1. NASA then will spent about 40 days testing and checking out the satellite's instruments and subsystems before turning the spacecraft over to NOAA this summer for routine operations.

While launching DSCOVR is the primary goal of the mission, SpaceX once again will attempt to guide the rocket's first stage to a powered landing on a barge stationed some 370 miles east-northeast of Jacksonville, Fla. SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk hopes to eventually be able to recover, refurbish and relaunch rocket stages to lower the cost of access to space.

During a landing attempt in January, a Falcon 9 first stage made it back to the landing barge but ran out of hydraulic fluid needed to operate stabilizing fins during the descent to Earth. The booster crashed onto the deck at an angle and exploded.

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SpaceX set to launch space weather satellite